A large number of citizens gathered in front of the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality after Friday prayers, demonstrated their anger by turning their backs on city hall.
Saying takbirs, participants often chanted slogans such as "let the hands that extend to the mosque be broken", "let the hands that extend to the Companions be broken", "Long Live hell for the wrongdoers".
The press statement was read by Mücahid Koyuncu on behalf of Islamic NGOs in Diyarbakir.
Koyuncu started the press release with an ayah from the Holy Qur'an, "And who are more unjust than those who prevent the name of Allah from being mentioned in His mosques and strive toward their destruction. It is not for them to enter them except in fear. For them in this world is disgrace, and they will have in the Hereafter a great punishment."
He stated that the duty of municipalities is to act with service awareness; decisions should not be taken with ideological approaches despite the public.
"No matter what you do, you have to do in accordance with the people's faith, values and sanctity"
Some of the decisions taken by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality in recent days, unfortunately, show that it targets the faith of the people of the city, Koyuncu said.
Koyuncu stressed that taking negative steps towards the Islamic identity of the city is not a municipality work but a provocative initiative.
"No matter what you do, you have to do in accordance with the people's faith, values, and sanctity," he noted.
Stating that populists have done great damage to this nation in the past despite the public, Koyuncu underlined that acting with the same logic did not give any benefit yesterday nor will it will today.
"You cannot rule cities by trying to otherize the sanctity of the Muslim Kurd people," he warned while advised that local authorities have to be more sensitive in this sense than anyone else.
Koyuncu drew attention that there was no single mosque plan in Kayapınar district in the zoning plan, which was drawn by former HDP Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality administration, right before the appointment of the trustee.
After the appointment of a trustee, the construct of some mosques were allowed to meet the need of people to worship.
"You have changed the zoning plan to turn the areas under construction of mosques into parkland, not satisfied with this; you have changed the name of the street named Iyaz Bin Ghanem, the conqueror of Diyarbakır, one of the great companions," said Koyuncu, adding that the decisions mean nothing but hostility to Islam.
"[HDP Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality administration] should not play with the sensitivities of the people of Diyarbakır, and it should return from the wrong way immediately."
"The Metropolitan Municipality should make a clear and satisfactory statement to the public that mosques will not be demolished," Koyuncu asked.
He emphasized that the geography of Kurdistan and the Muslim Kurd people have suffered greatly throughout history. "The children of the Islamic Ummah are always targeted by the enemies of Islam," Koyuncu said that their faith and identity are wanted to be knitted; that these people try to protect their identity despite assimilation policies.
ILKHA